Whipping Girl Read online

  “Of course I will” I laugh through my tears as he places the ring on my finger. He picks me up when he stands, holding me so our faces are nearly touching.

  “I’m going to make you so happy.” He kisses the tip of my nose with his promise.

  “You already do.” I peck his lips, laughing when his face breaks out in a full beam once again.

  “Are you ready to look at the results?” The smile drops from my face and I swallow nervously as I nod my head, even though I don’t think I’ll ever be ready to read those results. “It’s going to be okay, Angel, we’ve got this.” I paste a smile on my face that I don’t feel as he walks to the counter, placing my butt on the edge all the while staring at my face. We both take a deep breath then look down toward the white sticks.

  Pregnant. I quickly move my eyes to the other test. “Pregnant” then below that 3-4 weeks. Is that how far along I am? If it’s accurate than this means that it didn’t happen when Alexander seduced me out of using protection, I wouldn’t have blamed him for this no matter what –I could have said no- but somehow it makes me feel better knowing that this was Mother Nature giving this to us and not my soon-to-be husband’s manipulation. Holy crap, I’m going to be a Mommy. I wasn’t sure what my reaction to finding this out would be but I had expected it would feel a lot like cold dread, not the elation that is currently flowing through me. A smile spreads across my face as I look up at... a pale, shocked Alexander? He hasn’t noticed me yet, eyes still staring down at our future, I clear my throat to gain his attention he and looks at me in what I can only describe as fearful apprehension.

  “A little scarier than you thought, Daddy?” I don’t know why I find this humorous but I do. Man wants woman pregnant, woman gets pregnant then man is shocked into terror. I laugh out loud when he picks up the test to bring it closer to his face, squinting as if that might change the results.

  “Fuck.” He places the stick on the granite then scrubs his hands over his face. “There are going to be two of you. It’s going to be a girl, I just know it.” Sweat starts to bead on his forehead as he continues. “She’ll be pretty like her Mommy and boys are going to take notice of that, I’m going to have to kill teenage boys, Ally.”

  “What are you talking about?” I laugh at his rambling, thoroughly enjoying his discomfort.

  “I’m telling you, I just had a flash of our future and that little girl is going to be my demise.” He points at my stomach, panic giving way to a softer expression when he follows his finger. “We’re going to have a baby.” He finishes quietly, tenderness softening his eyes.

  “We’re going to have a baby.” I repeat, still unable to fully comprehend it. I have almost no experience with kids but I have no doubt that we can figure this out together. Alexander has far more love inside of him than anyone else that I know, it’s difficult to see it from an outside prospective but he shows me with every touch, every kiss and every smile that crosses his face. I’ve always known that he was it for me, not because I was conditioned to feel that way but because he taught me things that he didn’t need to, because he read pamphlets with me when I got my first period, because he was angry at the world when I was sad and because he waged a war against our fate when I was hurt.

  “I’ll just have to make sure the other seven are boys.” He winks at my scoff, lifting me into his arms bridal style as he moves toward the bedroom. Finally.

  Epilogue – Alexander- 2 _ years later

  “Jenny Pelosia.” The announcer calls out and I sit up straighter, knowing that Ally is going to be called next. I readjust our daughter so she has a better viewpoint but she’s more interested in deleting the apps on my cell phone than the stage where her Momma is about to get her diploma. I’ll have to remember to re-add those.

  “Natalia, Momma is about to get her diploma, you want to see Momma?” Her blond head moves as she looks up, dark brown eyes just like my own become animated when they meet mine.

  “Momma?”

  “Yeah, baby. Momma is up next.” I point to where she needs to look just as the announcer calls out my world’s name.

  “Allyanna Petrov.” My heart skips a beat in pride at the last name following the first. Mine.

  I may have rushed our wedding when I found out about the pregnancy, I have no excuse and I’ll make no apologies, I needed to make her my wife. I had dreamed of that moment for far too long and I could not wait to give her my last name, so the quick, intimate wedding happened in a small church with a few of our closest family and friends. Ally still to this day thinks that we couldn’t have done things any better, it really was the perfect fucking day.

  I clap my hands, our daughter following suite as my girl, my wife, my everything slowly makes her way to the stage. She’s beaming today, proud of herself for finishing her education even though it wasn’t always easy with the extra work that we created together. She looks absolutely stunning, glowing even, her black cap and gown hiding a delicious burgundy v-neck dress that I cannot wait to peel her out of later tonight.

  I’m taken out of my thoughts when Mike stands from beside me, hooting loudly as she accepts her diploma, her face turns pink but she beams in our direction when he holds up his camera to take photos for me and her mother. I lean forward so I can see around his large belly, spotting poor May as she tries to wrangle with my son. I narrow my eyes in warning when Anatoly spots me but he just flashes his regular mischievous grin, his green eyes sparkling in devilish delight at the ruckus he’s causing with all his talking and constant movement. I’m about to offer May a trade for his twin sister when she leans down and whispers something into his ear, he smiles up at her sweetly with a bob of his head then settles and looks ahead at his Momma who is now making her way down to her seat. I’m convinced that May is some kind of magician, I don’t know anyone –including me- that can contain that boy better than she can. Elisha and Brayden sit on the other side of their Mother, both with their phone out, taking videos of their Sister.

  “Papa.” Natalia says, holding out her arms for Mike. He swipes her from my arms, never needing to be asked twice to hold his grandkids. “Sucka, Papa?” She asks, blinking up at him with her innocent manipulation. He looks at me sideways before reaching into the camera bag to pull out a sucker, he chuckles like he’s somehow just made my life more difficult. I can’t help but smirk at him in return, he might be sugaring her up for us but he’s the one that’s going to get all sticky.

  After the graduation ceremony concludes, I watch as my little wife walks through the crowd towards where we are waiting. I pull her into me as soon as she’s within reach, leaning down to softly brush her lips with mine.

  “I’m so proud of you, Angel.” She blushes but the radiant smile never leaves her lips.

  “I couldn’t have done it without you.” She pulls my black tie, bending me for another quick peck before turning to hug the rest of the family. “Ugh, Dad, why are you all sticky?” I chuckle, causing Mike to narrow his eyes on me before turning his attention back to his daughter.

  “Natty was trying to share her sucker.” Ally rolls her eyes at her father, pulling wipes from the diaper bag that I’m sporting. Yes, I could have offered some to him but I’m teaching him a lesson. She cleans our daughter’s hands and face, then wipes up the worst of the stickiness on Mikes arms while May and I exchange amused glances.

  “Hey, Whipping Girl!” Ivan walks up to our group, flowers in hand. “I didn’t know if I was going to make it, I had to stand in the back but at least I got to see you up there.” He hands Ally the flowers then gives her a one armed hug while I glare at the back of his head. I’ve talked to him about using that name but he continuously ignores me. I don’t know if Ivan and I will ever have what anyone would consider a normal father-son relationship, I think it’s possible in our situation, but it’s good enough for me that my kids have another person who loves them and would protect them at any cost.

  “I’m so glad you did. You’re coming to the house after this right?” Sh
e asks, smiling up at him.

  “Of course, I wouldn’t miss the party. I can’t believe how big my grandkids have gotten in the last month.” Anatoly holds out his chubby arms and Ivan takes him from May, lifting the dark haired boy up high to inspect him. “I think you’ve gained some weight, boy! You look more and more like your dad every day.” It’s true, aside from the green eyes my son looks like a carbon copy of me. I wish the future generation of ladies a lot of luck, they’re going to need it.

  “Up again!” Anatoly squeals when Ivan brings him down. Ivan throws him up twice more than passes him back to May when the toddler asks for her.

  “He’s getting tired, we need to go so he doesn’t miss his nap.” Ally says, kissing the back of his dark head. We all agree immediately, no nap for Anatoly means no peace for anyone else.

  “Where’s Molly?” I ask, grabbing her hand to lead her through the swarm of people.

  “I talked to her before graduation, she and Zeke will meet us at our place.” I kiss her knuckles, unable to bare another minute without having my lips on her. This is still a struggle for me, having to share her with so many other people is like only being able to take half a breath, it sustains me but it doesn’t satisfy my need for air. But I try to endure it as much as I can for her sake and she does her best to help me take full breaths by touching me as much as she can. We make it work.

  On the drive home I think about how far we’ve come and all that has happened in the last two and a half years. Two perfect kids, friends and family to look after those kids when I want to fuck my wife for an entire weekend, a beautiful home that I plan to fill with even more perfect children.

  Ally just opened her own pottery store six months ago, she mostly works from home since I forced her to hire two employees but she goes in a few times a week to look in on things and show her craft to interested customers. I’m not at all surprised by the amount she sells, her stuff is truly a work of art and I knew people would appreciate the work and detail that she puts into everything she makes. She’s truly incredible in everything she does and everything she creates. I look in the review mirror at my last thought, quickly assessing our sleeping babies before tuning my eyes back to the road. Everything she creates turns into a master piece.

  I went back to Russia a few months after we found out Ally was pregnant. With the start of our new life I wanted to put the past behind us and bury old skeletons. Ally gave me the necklace that she had been wearing most of her life, telling me that although she had loved wearing it she also wanted Natalia to have it back since it had been stolen from her along with her life. I took the flight out, visited Natalia’s final resting place where I laid the silver filigree heart over the cold stone and thanked her for caring for me when I had no one else. Then came the burying of old skeletons- Maya and her husband’s to be exact.

  “What are you thinking about?” Ally asks, bringing me back to the present with the softness of her voice.

  “The last couple of years,” I grab her hand, bringing it to my lips to kiss her knuckles. “How far we’ve come.”

  “We have, haven’t we?” She asks with a dreamy smile. “Is this what you had imagined? I mean, when we were little kids whispering in the dark about our uncertain future, is this what you had dreamed of?”

  “No.” I chuckle at her affronted gasp. “The best that my mind could come up with back then was a picture of you, which was more than enough for me. Of course even then I had known that I wanted children with you someday but I couldn’t picture what that would be like, I had also wanted a house so when I came home at the end of the day I could say something like ‘Angel, I’m home!’” I throw her a half smile, it’s always the first thing I say when I step through the door. “But all of it was just a blur in the background, the only thing in my future that I could ever truly see was you.”

  “Alexander.” Her chin trembles with the soft sigh of my name and I once again lift her hand to place soft kisses on the delicate skin.

  “No crying Angel. We’re home and you have a bunch of people to entertain.” I stop the car in the front of the house and we each grab one sleeping child to take them up to their room. Our home has eight bedrooms but the twins share a room, we want them to be close so they would never feel alone in the dark of night. I know I only have a few minutes before our guests arrive so I whistle for Blue and Cujo, the German Shepard beasts we adopted two years ago, I let them outside to do their business while I feed the tank full of fish in the living room. A smile pulls at my lips as I look around, Ally’s decorative skills improved with homeownership. Thank fuck. I was a little nervous when she started picking things for the place, worried I’d get nauseous from all the rainbows but she’s learned to mesh enough neutral with color that it just feels… like home.

  “Husband!” I take a deep breath then turn toward the loud voice. “Where is my main girl?” I want to correct her but I’ve come to learn that Molly has selective hearing, I respect her too much to be rude but even if I were to tell her that Ally was only my girl, she would hear something like, ‘yeah, we can totally share her’. I’ve given up on trying.

  “We just put Natty and Ant down, she’s probably staring at them in wonderment.” I smile teasingly as Zeke walks up and slings his arm over Molly’s shoulders. Zeke, Molly, Ally and I have grown really close over the years, or maybe I should say that I’ve grown closer to their friendship threesome. It’s no longer a chore or an obligation to spend time with them. I’m growing. Zeke and I still do a lot of our work together, we’ve even had our old team back together for a few bigger jobs that we needed help with. We all go out for drinks afterwards just to catch. See? Growth.

  “Beer in the fridge?” She asks me but turns to Zeke without waiting for my answer. “Babe, go grab me a beer, I’m going to go pry my friend from those gorgeous babies.” Aaaand she’s gone. Zeke purses his lips but after a deep breath through the nose and a long exhale he shrugs off the demand, heading toward the kitchen. I follow with a smirk.

  “I’ve been telling you since you proposed to her, you have to show her who’s boss. Ally knows who runs this shit.” I tell him cockily. He scoffs.

  “Sure, Alex.” His eyes roll. “How did the discussion about the stripper job go?” Fuck. I quickly cover his mouth with my hand, looking around to make sure no one is around.

  “Don’t call it the fucking ‘stripper job’.” I whisper angrily after I’m sure my little wife isn’t around. We leave next week for a contract, the Target makes his big money through human trafficking but he also owns a line of strip clubs as a cover, we’ll probably be hanging around quite a few of them until we make our move. “I haven’t told her the details because I don’t want her to worry.”

  “Worry about what?” Ally asks from behind me. I stiffen, pulling my hand from Zeke to face her.

  “Nothing.” I wave my hand dismissively, her eyes move toward Zeke and she narrows them threateningly.

  “Alexander’s going to be hanging with strippers.” He sings like a fucking bird. “Go run that shit.” He whispers so only I can hear, slapping me on the back as he walks away laughing. My eyes close as I send up a silent prayer for his dick to fall off.

  “Angel,” I put my hands up in surrender when her blazing eyes find mine. “It’s for a job.”

  “Of course, Alexander.” She smiles but her eyes are still trying to light me on fire. “No need to explain it to me, I like that we’re able to keep secrets from each other.” She says airily while I try not to roll my eyes at her dramatics. “It makes it sooo much easier when I don’t have to tell you certain things.” My eyes snap wide at that.

  “What things?” I grab her wrist when she tries to go past. She tries to pull away so I crowd her into the nearest wall instead, trapping her with my body. “Don’t pull away from me, you know better. What things do you keep from me?”

  “Oh, are we telling each other everything now?” She blinks her long lashes. “I would have told you but I didn’t want you to be afr
aid.” Patience of any kind has never been in my nature, but my wife loves to push that red button with a goddamned hammer.

  “What things?” I ask through gritted teeth, two seconds from taking her upstairs and beating her little ass red.

  “Hey! Door was open so we just came… in.” Brayden says as he takes us in, Elisha entering behind him. “Everything okay?” He looks between Ally and I but he doesn’t appear all that concerned, most likely because he’s used to our ways. Elisha walks by us muttering something about foreplay but pays us no mind as she walks into the kitchen.

  “We’ll talk about this later.” I whisper, pulling away when I hear other people walking through the house. I sigh as I walk to the kitchen and grab a beer, mentally preparing myself for a long day of sharing my family.